WASHINGTON - The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) formed an Alliance today with the American Red Cross that focuses on increasing emergency preparedness and disease prevention education and expanding first aid information for individuals with Limited English Proficiency (LEP) and youth workers.

"This Alliance with the American Red Cross offers OSHA a unique opportunity to target two very important audiences -- our nation's young workers and employees whose primary language is not English," said Jonathan L. Snare, Acting Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA. "It's vitally important that we use our joint expertise to provide these workers with the knowledge and training they need to stay safe and healthy on the job."

"The American Red Cross is pleased that the Alliance with OSHA will highlight a very important, mutual goal -- to help workers prevent injuries, illnesses and fatalities - by emphasizing the importance of workplace health and safety training," said Alan McCurry, Executive Vice President, Chapter and International Operations of the American Red Cross.

OSHA and the American Red Cross will help prepare employers and employees, including the American Red Cross employees, to respond to disasters, life threatening injuries and emergencies. In addition, the organizations will provide information, guidance, and access to training resources on safety and health topics including emergency preparedness, disease prevention and first aid in the workplace.

The organizations will work together to deliver training and education materials in a language suited for the target audience and to provide expertise in communicating such information to employers and employees. Both Alliance members will participate in forums, round table discussions, and stakeholder meetings to discuss emergency preparedness, first aid, and disease prevention issues in the workplace.

The American Red Cross was founded on May 21, 1881 and works to help make families, communities and workplaces safer, provide relief to victims of disasters and help prevent, prepare for, and respond to emergencies.

Employers are responsible for providing a safe and healthful workplace for their employees. OSHA's role is to assure the safety and health of America's workers by setting and enforcing standards; providing training, outreach, and education; establishing partnerships; and encouraging continual process improvement in workplace safety and health. For more information, visit www.osha.gov.

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NOTICE: This is an OSHA Archive Document, and may no longer represent OSHA Policy. It is presented here as historical content, for research and review purposes only.

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